Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Preparing to pack

In only two short weeks, my husband and I plan to move to our new home. The little visitor you see in the picture above stayed in our living room all yesterday evening, listening to our conversation about everything that needs to be done. And there is a lot of work...

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The house needs to be painted from the outside; infestations of insects must be exterminated; the garden must be rescued from its wild condition (while being careful with critters like snakes and scorpions that might just crawl out around here); stuff in the storage shed must be sorted out and divided into what we'll keep and what we're going to dispose of; and of course there's the usual packing, moving our stuff, and unpacking, which will be done during several days. Fortunately, as we only got married a few short months ago, we don't have an excess of "stuff" yet.

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It's going to be a lot of good hard work, and I'm looking forward to it, because it will be ourown first home, and there will be so much more inspiration to invest in long-term projects than in the rented house we currently occupy. We were supposed to move later, but I'm happy we're doing it now - the more time we have to set up our new nest before the baby is born, the better.

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Also, right now I'm enjoying a wonderful period of pregnancy: sickness is gone, my energy levels went up again - I even started doing moderate exercise - and though I'm steadily gaining weight, my tummy isn't big enough yet to make me feel "heavy". Seeing this growth and the changes in my body, and knowing they are being caused by the wee baby inside me, is truly fascinating!

21 comments:

Good luck with the move!! Andrew and I had 3 moves in our first year of marriage...agghh!! It is nice to be settled for a bit now. Glad that you are in the good part of the pregnancy, I guess it won't be long and you will be feeling those first flutters :)

Mabrook on your new home! We moved into our first house (that we bought...OK, made payments on) when I was pregnant with the Boss. It is so nice to know that you don't have to ask permission from anyone to paint the baby's room or worry about if it'll cost you something when you get your deposit back. ;)

Enjoy your move! We renovated out home while I was pregnant- it was hard work, harder than I thought. Make sure you get plenty of rest and drink enough water, and don't do any painting yourself unless it is VOC-free paint (though outdoors you should be fine). Have fun.

Anna, I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well! Glad to hear too that you have energy just when you are certain to need it most-- we also just recently moved house, and although we, too, don't have a lot of "stuff" it was still quite an undertaking. Given my sister's recent surgery we found we were greatly blessed with a two-week span of time in which to slowly pack everything. We were also able to accomplish the actual moving part over the course of a couple different days and we found it made all the difference, giving her that chance to recuperate. I hope that you will have a similar respite as you work to get everything done!

Oh, this is the fun, exciting, dreamy stage. Enjoy it! You guys will laugh about it when you are up all night with the wee one :)

I agree with the painting thing, very bad for pregnant ladies...yet it always seems that painting is what pregnant ladies want to paint :)

I was pregnant with my first dd and we renovated the entire house (it is my dh's version of nesting) the day we finished he found out the one behind us(much bigger) was for sale and bought it and put ours on the market. We moved in and started tearing it apart when our dd was two weeks old. Whew, I am still tired from that. We love it now and I am so glad he didn't listen to me when I said he would have to pry me out of the other one.

When dd number two came (two years to the day later) He had spent three months re-renovating this house (he is very handy). It was a blessing though, everything was done when baby came and our home looked beautiful (even with all the messies). I am very grateful to him.

How fun to move into your own home!! Good luck. I too am moving, 4 days before school starts (what timing).I've already started packing as we do have lots of 'stuff'. I think I sent 20 or 30 huge bags out for donation already.I love all the nesting and decorating that comes with owning your own home. I think you can paint even if you are pregnant; regular Tambour paints should be OK; but maybe just to be sure your hubby can do the work. Paint is the easiest and loveliest way to spruce up the whole place.Have fun!Tammy

Anna, my mother is also extremely sensitive to paint fumes from even the mildest types of paint; her throat will swell and close if she is exposed to them for very long, even outdoors.

When we painted our last home Mum borrowed an industrial-strength respirator mask that used disposable filters. It was the same sort that are used when people apply pesticides and spray-in foam and mix paint thinner and all those sorts of scary, chemical things! She found that as long as she replaced the filters regularly, it completely eliminated her breathing problems. If your husband could find such a thing (you can get them here in Canada for as little as twenty dollars but I don't know about in Israel!) it might help him out a lot (or he might already have one, in which case, ignore!)

My husband and I were married two months, if that, when I found out I was expecting little Lauren. We were both young and working. This really threw us for a loop! Our plan was to wait "three" years. Haha, sound familiar? The whole pregnancy I was very sick and ended up having a C-section due to complications. Once I took Lauren home I was absolutely exhausted and the long nights literally made me sit & cry! I was trying to recover from surgery, which was the first surgery I had ever had so that came with it's own new experiences. I was very unprepared and somewhat angry with the Lord for sending Lauren when He did. I quit work, and knew being a stay at home mother was the only option for me. I was worried about financial issues now that we were bumping down to one income & after the exhausten and surgery I just didn't feel like the new bride anymore, lol. You can see now that I laugh about that. Lauren is two years old now and I cry tears of thankfulness that God sent her when He did! His timing is perfect. I can't imagine life without her. Our marriage is so much deeper, my walk with God means so much more and parenting has been a CLOSE walk with God through prayer everyday! Yes, I lost my idenity as the new bride and all my goals and dreams for our first few years together in marriage but I found a new one...the one God wanted me to have all along. His idenity. The lessons learned in having children! Patience, self-control, meekness, gentleness, faithfulness, selfless-ness. A complete dieing to your own self and to fulfill God's purpose. I learned the hard way, He just decided to show me and send little lauren. lol. But none the less, the joys, satisfaction and fulfillment surpasses all the endurance it takes!

I am now expecting baby number two. Yes, I am still sick through this pregnancy but I smile this time around because I have had a heart change. I am so very excited and give God the glory. Thank God for the hit on the head with a baby two years ago because it has changed my life forever for the better and I look forward to all He has for us. He is faithful and does provide. What a beautiful life in Him....

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Domestic Felicity is the journey of one woman who loves her family and home and seeks to live a simple, peaceful, and purposeful life. It is also a record of my daily experiences and challenges and everything I'm learning as I walk along this path. If you wish to ask or comment about something but want to do it in private, you are welcome to email me.

A little bit about me

I'm a Jewish woman, a wife, a mother, a homemaker. I love everything that has to do with home and family, and enjoy the solitude of my quiet corner, which is located in one of the most beautiful areas of Israel. Our lives are simple, but very full, busy and satisfying. I'm passionate about writing, hand crafts, healthy food, home education and the human connection to land and nature.